WIREC Preparatory Workshop for Southern Africa - February 2008

The Regional Secretariat for REEEP in Southern Africa, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, hosted a one-day SOUTHERN AFRICAN PREPARATORY WORKSHOP for WIREC on 7 February 2008 at the Innovation Hub, Pretoria.  Thirty-eight stakeholders representing governments, regulators, financiers, industry, agriculture, R&D and civil society from seven countries (Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia) engaged in intense discussions regarding the acceleration of renewable energy within the region.  Dr Griff Thompson, U.S. State Department, participated in the event and represented the organisers.

It is anticipated that the South African Minister of Minerals and Energy, Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, will present a consolidated summary of similar preparatory processes in Southern Africa, Latin America and Caribbean and South Asia and Pacific to the final Ministerial Plenary Session of WIREC between 08:30 - 10:00 on Thursday 6 March 2008.

Mr Kadri Nassiep, CEO of SANERI and representative for Southern Africa on the Programme Board of REEEP, will be presenting in the Session entitled : Renewable Fuels: Market Adoption and Deployment of New Technology between 11:00 - 12:30 on Wednesday 5 March 2008 (see the full WIREC agenda here).

Overview of outcomes

Energy services are simultaneously both:

• critical inputs to the regional (and national) economies in Southern Africa and,
• significant contributors as a sector of the economy(ies) - including the distributed employment dimensions.

A key opportunity for efficiency and success in accelerating the market uptake for RE in Southern Africa is regional co-ordination of activities and services for the market.  These include: common policy development and modes of implementation (including legislation); common regulatory approaches and frameworks; and, regional trading mechanisms for physical power and RE support mechanisms.  RE markets and resources do not begin and end at political borders.  Key institutional stakeholders include: SADC Energy Programme Office; the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP); the Regional Electricity Regulators Association (RERA); the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD); the African Union (AU); the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA); and, African Development Bank (ADB).  Clearly, national governments and institutions would need to provide commitment to regional co-operation.  Lastly, key institutional stakeholders, such as the African Energy Commission (AFREC), the Forum of Energy Ministers of Africa (FEMA), the World Bank and the UN agencies are important stakeholders which should support this overall initiative for RE in Southern Africa. The full report from this workshop is available here.